For Want of a Lion
by Dark Dreamscape
Summary: That feel when you think the definition of a wormhole with its integrity compromised should be amended to "having no control as to where AND WHEN you're headed." AU
1. Chapter 1

"I wish I was going up with you guys," she sighed longingly while staring down at her food. All of a sudden, she started feeling light headed as her father's voice, no doubt giving words of confidence, started to drone out into the back of her mind. Then she was back as quickly as she came, but also not.

"Katie?" the concerned voices of her family filled her ears and she wanted to cry; she could look right and see her mom, look left and see Matt, then look further and see her father. That screwed up wormhole really must have dumped her in an unlucky place, to be in a fake world with her family would be something she wouldn't want to leave, as much as she knew she would have to.

"What's wrong, Kat? Miss us already?" Katie tried to ignore her "brother," she really did, but she really wanted to run around the table and...she wanted to do a lot of things. Hug him, hug her dad, but also shake him senseless because her brother was under Galra control, not with her on this illusionary planet. Instead, she tried to focus on something else, like not crying, or the unfamiliar weight of her long hair...or...the fact that she wasn't wearing her Paladin armor. Wait, what?

"Don't worry, Katie. The Kerberos Mission is only supposed to last for 2 months, we'll be back before you know it," her dad, her _real dad_ , assured her. She smiled back and insisted she was fine and would miss them, but her mind was really just whirring. She was not on some planet hallucinating, she was on Earth, and somehow on Earth a day before the Kerberos team would leave.

: :

She didn't have enough time to hack her way into the system to somehow sabotage the mission...and besides, it was Shiro's crash landing after escaping the Galra that gathered them all together to form Voltron. Unexpectedly, her door opened and Matt peeked his head in, breaking her out of her late night planning.

"Hey...back at dinner," Matt's voice trailed off as he closed the door with a soft 'click'. It was an invitation for her to open her heart and problems to him, but also an opening. An opportunity.

"Switch with me!" she blurted out before she could have any second thoughts or lose the chance. At his surprised look, she attempted to reason with him _without rambling_ , thank you very much, Shiro, "I could cut my hair and borrow your spare glasses, and you could use that old wig in my closet from Halloween. Besides, you have contacts so you don't have to worry about being blind without your glasses, and we haven't pulled the switch in so long that Mom and Dad won't think anything of it until it's too late. _PLEASE_ , Matt," she knew it was hardly a plan at all, but she had to at least _try_ to save her brother if nobody else. And maybe, if she were lucky, she'd be able to protect her Dad while hatching an escape plan when she had more time. But first...

Obviously, it wasn't the trivial "switch with me to mess with our friends/parents/teacher" that it used to be when they were younger with about the same length hair. Plus, sooner or later, their parents would figure out. But it was worth a shot and if she wasn't mistaken, the look on Matt's face meant he was considering it.

"I kno-"

"Okay." Katie blinked. A beat passed. "You... From what I can see, this really means a lot to you, probably more than it means to me, to be honest," Matt let out a light chuckle, even as he looked a bit torn over what he was doing. "And besides, how could I let down my favorite sister in the whole wide universe?" Her efforts at dinner may have been successful, but now the waterworks were on with no sign of stopping.

She gave in, and stood up from sitting on her bed to hug Matt like she would never let go, "Thank you, thank you so much, you won't regret this," or at least, she wouldn't, "I...I love you so much, I'll miss you," she hugged tighter and tried not to think of giving up and telling her father to not go, otherwise there would be no Voltron to fight back against Zarkon.

This...changed a lot, now that Katie took a good look at the situation, after already having done a lot. Might as well try to fix that. "Oh, and...maaaaybe, while we're at it, you can enroll in the Garrison for me. And hey, I'll cut you some slack, when you're standing in for me in school you won't have to be a girl, you can stop wearing the wig and contacts. Maybe take on a whole new identity, like in undercover movies, like 'Pidge Gunderson' or something," she made sure to keep her tone light as if she were teasing him.

Matt scoffed and played along, "You want me to deal with Iverson all over again? And what kind of a name is 'Pidge Gunderson'? Like pidgeons? Here, let me write that down so I don't forget," he rolled his eyes and slid the folded paper into his pocket, 'where money and souls disappear' he once joked.

"I'll just go cut my hair," she laughed, "and I have so many of your hand-me-downs anyway, so the clothes won't be an issue and you won't have to wear dresses or skirts."

"I'm really doing this," she repeated to herself in her head, the phrase a calming mantra for her nerves as she steadily clipped her hair into looking like Matt's.

: :

It had worked, initially. Her father still knew she and Matt had impersonated each other, though. But she had been taken by the Galra in Matt's stead. And now, way after-the-fact, they were being led somewhere - her, Shiro, and the prisoners she had rescued in another timeline.

Oh. They were going to fight the thing that would become the first Robeast to go against Voltron. How lovely. Wait, that thing was pointing at her, so she'd be fighting...at least she knew how to beat it now, its weakness was the weapon's recharge period every third time around. She stepped forward, only to be roughtly pulled back and thrown onto the floor. She didn't have long to gather her bearings, he was already making a scene to be thrown into the Gladiator ring in her stead just like he did for Matt.

"Its weapon has to recharge every three times!" she hissed before he could get hauled off and knew he heard her tip because of the look on his face. 'Oh well,' she sighed to herself, 'guess he's the Champion for a reason...I should lay low and not capture anyone's attention...hey, maybe I can reprogram Rover while I'm at it."

: :

"...all crew members are believed to be dead..." Time went on, the world kept revolving, and that female newscaster kept speaking as pictures of his dad, himself, and Shiro were plastered on the screen. "...crash caused by pilot error..." And to think a while ago his main concern was his mother's reaction to the siblings' deceit.

The blue light of the TV shone onto his and his mother's faces, but she didn't move or say anything and neither did he. 'That...that should have been me.'

 **...guess which piece of trash got roped into marathoning the entirety of Voltron a few nights ago? *cough* It's all AvidAkiraReader's fault.**


	2. Chapter 2

Lance, to his credit, only didn't realize the wormhole had tossed him into the past because he wasn't awake. For around 7 hours. Allura's early morning drills aside, he really liked sleep, naturally.

However, some things he couldn't and wouldn't ignore included his mother, no matter what the situation. So when he heard his special ringtone to signify a call from his mom, he automatically bolted out of bed and scrambled to pick up the phone without processing the situation.

Soon enough, his memories started to piece together and bring the idea that he lucked out in being transported to Earth randomly. Although he did pretty well in trying not to be overcome with emotions, his mom knew him too well. He just missed his family so much, missed his mom's hugs, missed-

"Ay, what's wrong, Lance? Still sad that you're a cargo pilot? Don't worry, Mamá believes in you! We all do! You'll make fighter class for sure. Buena suerte, and make sure you take care of yourself!" his mother soothed, the same way she always did, and Lance could hear the happy, boisterous noise of his family in the background.

Only the confusion stopped him from blurting out that he was better than any fighter pilot in the Garrison because _he was a Voltron Paladin_. Because if he was a cargo pilot, then...and even if he couldn't quite believe it, everything clicked. Before he would get into action, though, he needed to talk to his mom, his abuela...all his big family and tell them all how much he loved them and missed them and their quirks, their hugs, the homemade food, even if the last one was sometimes so spicy it made him cry.

: :

"Hey look, Lance! You made it! You're a fighter pilot! Congratulations!" Hunk found their names on the board, it seemed. Somehow, Lance didn't know why, but even if _he_ travelled back in time, nobody else did. Or at least, Keith and Hunk hadn't given any indication whatsoever of being from his timeline. Lance didn't need to look at the board, he heard of the "discipline issue," probably from Keith's reaction to the Kerberos mission, he speculated. Therefore, Lance would be the fighter pilot and his crew would be an Engineer Hunk and a Comm Officer-

"Who's...Pidge Gunderson?" Yep. Called it. Hopefully this time, the three of them would be able to bond as a team, even if there wasn't the rapport they used to have-

"Right here," sure, a brown haired teen with glasses was standing right behind them, and obviously the one who answered Hunk's question, but...

"You're...not Pidge," Lance squinted at the boy, definitely a boy, taller than the real Pidge and with a deeper voice, to boot. This wasn't Pidge in the completely different way that Hunk wasn't Hunk and Keith wasn't Keith. Furthermore, once Lance said that, "Pidge" stiffened up and looked ready to say something in a panic until Iverson walked by. The three of them straightened up and saluted, all with the correct arm. If Lance remembered correctly, and he honestly didn't - he couldn't even remember what he ate for dinner last week - Pidge had saluted with the wrong arm last time.

Guess there was only one way to find out, although his suspicions were almost already confirmed. "Soooo, welcome to the team, Pidge. I'm your pilot, Lance, and this is the engineer, Hunk. Hopefully I'll never crash like that pilot on the Kerboros mission, amirite?" How his insides churned a bit, to denounce Shiro like that. Still, it produced the...right reaction, at least. Even if Hunk looked horrified at the OOC statement, Not!Pidge looked enraged and ready to pick a fight. And as Hunk tried to frantically tell him - the voice of reason, as always - they were still in the middle of the hall. Plan B.

He didn't know how me managed it, but he was rather proud he had dragged Not!Pidge into his room in the barracks without getting socked in the face or making much of a scene. Now, all he had left to do was to explain he knew the situation. But with tact. Like the tact he used with his family. Or maybe attempt to - Not!Pidge took that moment to sock Lance in the face. Great. At least Hunk had his back, now holding back Not!Pidge and trying to play mediator.

"You're...you're the brother," damnit, he didn't know their names. Oh wait, it was on the news of the mission gone awry. "...what was it, again? HOLT! There we goooo," Not!Pidge's expression in front of the roster board was nothing compared to now, at being completely found out. To be fair, Hunk was also staring at him open mouthed, just not with the whole the-world-is-ending expression.

"How do you know?! Argh, I shouldn't have listened to Katie...and would you let go?!" Not so tactful at all. Not!Pidge had stepped away from Hunk and was now pacing, running his hands through his hair...essentially a panicked mess. Oops.

"Hey, easy there, uh...I'm not...we're not going to tell Iverson or anyone. You're just looking for your family, right?" Lance tried another angle this time; an attempt to reassure him. That calmed him down marginally, and with calm came questions.

"So really, how _do_ you know who I am?! I don't even know who you are...I've never heard of "Lance" or "Hunk." And how do you know my sister anyway?! You know I'm her older brother, Matt, but she's _never_ mentioned either of you two before. ARE YOU STALKING HER?!" One step forward, two steps backwards, smooth...

"Hey, er, listen, we don't know any "Matt" or "Katie" either, and aren't stalking anyone! I don't know what Lance is talking about but we can just talk this out, right? Are you hungry? Food always helps, or maybe a drink?" Bless Hunk, although eating wasn't quite a good way to try to run away from the current situation. Did this mean Pidge was also back and had figured this the best way to save her brother? Well, at least she'd be with Shiro-...or maybe not, since the original crew didn't crash land last time. Lance figured the best solution would be to cross that bridge later and deal with this first.

: :

Turned out Matt wasn't as tech savvy as Pidge, but that was alright. Lance already knew the Galra were out there looking for Voltron, and that at one point, Shiro would escape and crash land and they would team up with Keith, then eventually get his lion back. After a while, Lance started to get mixed feelings about what he knew would come. On one hand, he really missed Team Voltron and Allura and Coran, but on the other hand, being part of Team Voltron would mean leaving his family behind.

"Why do you have to drag us up here every night?! Is it because I said there's no guarantee that Shiro crash landing outside the Garrison will happen on the same night it did in the other timeline, if it even exists?" Matt griped while staring out into the desert sky with a pair of binoculars. Lance had to come clean with that particular information to explain how he knew about the whole Pidge-is-a-disguise issue.

"Look-"

"ATTENTION STUDENTS, THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Yep, so it was happening tonight.

"Oh God it's happening - WHAT IS THAT?! Is that the ship? It's an alien ship isn't it?! This is really happening isn't it, I don't know how I feel about this. Us, escaping from and fighting weird purple aliens? Me? Some kind of "defender of the universe"? What if I can't pilot this "yellow lion" this time around? What if-" Hunk was cut off as they watched the ship crash into the desert. Garrison staff and crew quickly pulled out to the crash site, and now it was just a matter of waiting for that distraction.

"Come on, we have to go down there! Even though you said last time it was just Shiro, my dad and my sister could have escaped with him. Just because some things are the same doesn't mean this will be the same, too! We could-...we could get gas masks and hazmat suits and sneak in or something, we don't have _time_ to wait around! You said it was suspicious because the Garrison wouldn't listen last time!" Funny, Lance could've sworn Pidge also suggested to sneak in like Med Techs. But with less desperation...or maybe not, not like that bit really mattered, though.

"Some things are only different this time around because me and Pidge have been going around changing our actions from the last time around. Because last time, you were captured by the Galra, and LAST TIME, I'm pretty sure Mullet-head didn't take so long to create a distr-" ah ha, there were the explosions. "We can go now," Lance shot Matt an only-mildly-smug look as they slid and ran down to the crash site.

Like last time, by the time the three of them had reached the room where Shiro was, Keith had already beaten them and taken out the Med Techs. Unlike last time, Keith's suspicious "Who are you?" was directed at Matt, not Lance, even though Lance was the one to support Shiro's other side. Icing on the cake, he even added, "You're not Pidge." without a beat of hesitation.

Matt's indignation of "OH, COME ON!" was worth it, even as his gaze was flitting around the room, no doubt looking for at least one member of his family. They all tried to hurry outside to Keith's getaway ride, Hunk once again asking if they all could "get a ride," especially since the Garrison would be on their trail.

"Can all of us even fit on this... _thing_?" Matt and Lance were now supporting Shiro, five people once again crammed onto the hoverbike. Without replying, Keith started the engine and flew them off into the desert to shake the Garrison off their tail.

"Hunk, lean left!" Keith ordered as the shift of weight managed to get some of the Garrison staff to take each other out. The only odd thing to Lance was that Keith knew Hunk's name... "Now lean right!"

"Do you even know what you're doing?!" Matt was clutching onto Shiro with one hand and attempting to find a leverage spot on the body of the hovercraft with the other.

"Just trust me!"

"AND IS THAT A CLIFF?!"

"Yep."

"Oh no no no, I think I'm going to be sick..." Lance hoped desperately that Hunk wouldn't get sick all over them, since he was sitting all the way in the back...

: :

Now that they had all safely gotten to the shack out in the middle of nowhere - rather, the desert... - Lance could finally try to clear up some things. "So, you back too, Keith? Is that why you were late back there?" Lance hoped if Keith had also came back from the wormhole, that he would get what Lance was trying to ask and make that clear. Otherwise, he'd just be making a fool out of himself again. Luckily, Keith went straight to the point.

"Late? I was trying to get your lion back for you!" He had definitely also come back, so that made at least Keith, Pidge, and himself.

"Pffft, remember? We only found Blue when I was there, so _take that_."

Keith looked around a bit, then whispered, "Who _is_ that, anyway?" motioning towards Matt, "That's not Pidge..."

"Oh, that's Pidge's brother, Matt," Lance snorted when he saw this threw Keith for a loop. "Pidge came back before the Kerberos mission and changed the timeline," he explained, "and Hunk's not back yet...dunno about Shiro, though." Keith nodded, processing this new information.

"Hey, _there_ you guys are!" Hunk had exited the shack and went up the hill where Lance and Keith were standing on. "So, uh, Keith. How did you know me, anyway? I know you know Lance because you two are rivals and all - and speaking of, at least you aren't fighting or arguing right now - but I've never met you. Or you've never met me, rather, so you wouldn't know who I am... Wait did you also travel back in time like Lance?! Is that how you knew me and also knew Pidge isn't Pidge because he's actually Matt?"

"...you just _had to_ tell him about the wormhole, didn't you?" Keith looked at Lance with a deadpan stare.

"HEY!"


	3. Chapter 3

As it turned out, Shiro was also back. From the Galra, of course, but also back in time from the wormhole. As much as Keith wanted to explain the details of the situation to Shiro right then - since he guessed waking up to invasive Med Techs while strapped to a table wasn't the best feeling - he knew they had to go back inside the shack to explain everything to everyone and actually plan for what they knew would come.

However, right as they neared the door, there was audible noise of an argument inside, although Keith couldn't quite make out any specific words.

"Guess that means everyone's awake now?" Shiro opened the door, fully prepared to see the familiar faces of Lance, Hunk, and- "MATT?" Keith tried not to wince in regret of not prepping Shiro at all before he opened the door. "What's going on? Where's Pidge?" Shiro looked around the shack, the question directed at nobody in particular.

"Actually, we were hoping YOU would know where my sister is. And my father, too, Commander Holt," Matt piped up, at this point resigned to people seeing through the "Pidge" disguise. Fair enough, since most of them had already met his sister when she already used the alias herself.

"So like, apparently you guys, including this "Pidge" - who's actually not really named "Pidge" but anyway... You all came back to the past from the future through this screwed up WORMHOLE. So Pidge apparently was really hung up about losing her family after the Kerberos mission and like, pretended to be her brother while her brother pretended to be her so once these weird purple aliens showed up Matt here would be safe on Earth," Hunk continued, now the last of Team Voltron to not have yet come back from the wormhole. "Oh, and, uh, speaking of... That's kinda what we were...arguing about before you two came in. You see..." Hunk trailed off, then shot a desperate look at Lance. Keith figured that meant Lance had something to say in the argument, and if not with Hunk, that left Matt.

"Listen, last time when we went to that cave in the desert and found Blue, we didn't know what would happen. After going through that wormhole to the Castle, we never really figured out if we'd ever get back to Earth, especially with the whole Galra and Zarkon problem out there. So this time we shouldn't leave as many loose ends behind. I don't know what Pidge said to her mom about leaving for the Garrison, but either way, she disappeared completely. That means your mom lost HER WHOLE FAMILY with no proper explanation whatsoever," Lance pointedly said that last part to Matt.

Lance especially probably understood that the best, didn't he? He had a whole big extended family he was leaving behind all the way across the universe. Which would be more painful, Keith wondered, leaving without a word for the family to wonder and grieve, or to give a cryptic incomplete message as goodbye for things they would never understand?

"I already TOLD YOU, I'm the one everyone thinks is missing, not Katie! Besides, I already explained most of this to my mom and that I'm going to get my dad and my sister back." Guess more people knew about the wormhole thing than Keith thought.

"Matt, what did you tell your mom? If you come with us, she'll be..." Shiro stepped in, trying to quell the argument without taking a clear side. Keith wondered what Shiro personally thought about it, especially since Keith himself didn't know where he stood. Matt wanted to come along while Lance didn't want him to - out of what reason, to protect Matt? Did that mean Hunk thought the same, especially since he was always so easily concerned over other people's wellbeing?

"She won't be alone," Matt refuted with a resolute voice, "I...kinda gave her Lance's mom's number," he coughed and looked away from everyone's gaze, "but I told her it's only for after we leave! So if the Garrison declares us three dead like they did to you, Dad, and Katie, then...they'll kinda have each other? Ah, this sounded like a better idea in my head."

That slack jaw expression of shock was like deja vu...the Holt siblings were sure full of surprises.

"IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE ALWAYS DOING ON MY PHONE?!" Lance bounced back from speechless to motor mouth quickly. "How'd you even...?!"

"It took me a while," Matt admitted, although he didn't look like he regretted anything, "and for that matter, why is her contact named so weirdly? What's "chancla" mean anyway?" Keith and Shiro glanced at each other and shrugged. Internally, Keith was wondering how long it took for Hunk in the previous timeline to build the Voltron geiger counter, because they - Lance, really - still had to take down the Galra ship headed for Earth. Assuming it still was, though he didn't doubt it, since they were probably after Shiro.

"Dude, you really did it?" Hunk seemed to also know what "chancla" meant, staring at Lance in a mix of fear and awe.

"Does that mean you're coming with us, then?" This time, the interruption question was asked with a hint of some other emotion Keith couldn't quite place, but not with the apprehension the previous question had.

: :

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LANCE?! FLY STRAIGHT, YOU'RE MAKING ME SICK! I FEEL LIKE HUNK!" Matt's fascination of the Blue Lion was immediately diverted once the Lion itself took off into the sky.

On the other side of Lance, Hunk seemed like he had the same sentiments, "Hey, I AM Hunk, and you said I pilot a yellow one of these? Do I just get over motion sickness or something? Is there some alien space medicine that cures me of it? Look, you already know you have to get rid of that purple alien spaceship headed for Earth so why-"

"I told you, it's like last time: Blue's going on autopilot. Besides, we can't really find the Castle on our own, or open the Castle, even." Keith would have thought previous experience with the Red Lion from the previous timeline would have made first flight in the Blue Lion less uncomfortable...it really didn't.

"Just go destroy the Galra ship," Keith sighed. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get the rest of our Lions." Not to mention the fact that his own lion was on board a DIFFERENT Galra ship and unfortunately not the one Lance's lion was currently tearing apart.

"Don't forget, we also have to wake up Allura and Coran, because they have to open those wormholes for us... Hey do you think Allura or Coran are back yet? Or both of them? They also went through the wormhole with us...you think they're already awake back at the Castle?" Lance wondered out loud, both hands expressing his confusion, proving that yes, the Blue Lion really was on autopilot.

"Erm, speaking of the castle, is that the wormhole up ahead? I mean, I've never seen it before but you three have, and we all agreed back in the desert that there's no going back, so uhh," Hunk pointed ahead to the wormhole in the peripheral. He also looked a bit sick, even if he hadn't actually gotten quite sick yet. Hopefully he wouldn't.

"We're all in this together, now let's go to the Castle and see if Allura and Coran can help us figure out what to do about finding the Lions and the Holts." At Shiro's words, Keith wondered when someone would bring up the fact that Pidge wasn't there to pilot the Green Lion. Would Matt pilot in her stead? Would they just have to not form Voltron until they found her? In all honesty, they hardly knew the complete capabilities when fighting as Voltron...

: :

They were starting to near the rooms with the cyro pods, when Shiro spoke up, "Lance...if Allura and Coran aren't back yet... Just...behave yourself." There was an undignified squack as a response from Lance. Right, last time Allura and Coran attacked and attempted to attack Lance, respectively, if Keith remembered correctly. "We're here."

"So do we have to push any buttons to wake them up or is it automatic? I mean look at this technology!" Hunk looked around, constantly impressed no matter where he looked, even though the castle hadn't been touched in about ten thousand years.

As if in response to Hunk's question, Allura's - well, it was Allura's pod last time, so this was probably a safe assumption - cyro pod rose up from its spot in the floor; Coran's pod came up not too long after. Lance was indeed standing in front of Allura's pod, although it was definitely better to catch a freshly woken Allura than to let her fall.

A little more than a second - so just a tick, then? - later, the pod opened and out fell Allura, crying out, "Paladins!" ...what? Everyone else had some degree of shock on their face and looked around at each other.

Lance decided to break the silence, "So, Princess... You're back, too? How about the mice?" Keith peered into the pod where the mice were still a bit out of it; only Allura would be able to tell if they were also back from the wormhole, though.

"I'm back, too? From...what?" Allura looked at Lance suspiciously while extracting herself from his light hold. Looking around the room, it didn't take long for Allura to piece together why she was this situation again, although it would probably take longer for that information to sink in and for her to believe it, given she was still looking around. On the second scan, her eyes settled on a big difference. Unlike Lance's and Keith's approach, Allura tried the "diplomatic" way, "Since it seems some of us haven't met, I'm Princess Allura, and Coran is..." she glanced at his pod, "...still in there, as are the mice."

"You probably know me already, then, but I'm Hunk," he offered, since for him, this was his first time meeting Allura, and also so Matt wouldn't be the only one introducing himself.

"I'm Matt. I guess it'll be easier to go by that, since my sister's the one you all know as "Pidge." I'm here instead of her because she travelled back in time early enough to stop me from going on the Kerberos Mission that got me captured," Matt played the part of Mr. Exposition without much prompting to get most of that explanation out of the way from the beginning.

"Enemy combatants?!" Coran was awake, there he goes again... This would take a while.

 **Thanks to everyone for reading/favorites/follows/reviews! Hope you all enjoy ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

They were all due for a long discussion and they knew it; there was a lot to do and catch up on but not nearly enough time. Even with their knowledge of what would come from time travelling through the wormhole, preparations and planning wasn't any easier. If anything, it made it so much more difficult, not even taking the...complications into account.

"Princess, do you think you and Coran can get the castle defense system back into operation in case we can't get our Lions back in time?" Shiro was ever the strategist, trying to plan for any situtation. "Now that we know where all the Lions are, we don't necessarily have to wait in order to take the Red Lion back, however, it will still be risky even though we know what's coming."

"We can, but the particle barrier will be too weak against the ion cannon, though," that said, Allura went to bend down and lift part of the metal plating to do whatever she was planning. Although, he mused, the opening wasn't big enough for her in her current Altean form, unless her plan was to utilize the mice.

"I...I don't understand," Allura's confusion brought over everyone, now trying to crowd around to peer into the tiny space.

"All I can see are two crystals, is that bad? I mean, they look like they're in the right place, up straight in their...right places," Hunk voiced his two cents out loud, turning his head this way and that to look at everyone in turn.

"No, it's good that the crystals are still in alignment after 10,000 years, but..." she stood up and moved to replace the cover, "they weren't like that last time. The mice had to go in and fix it."

"Don't tell me _the castle_ also went back in time with you guys," Matt spoke without missing a beat in a mixture of sarcasm and awe. However, the idea planted from Matt's statement quickly brought up a new issue, especially if it meant things like already being bonded to their Lions. After all, Keith wasn't looking forward to ejecting himself into space from the Galra ship; it would be harrowing even given it wouldn't be the first time.

"Sweet! That means we don't have to wait around for Sendak's memories for the location of their hidden base," Lance whooped in excitement before remembering other castle-related events from the previous timeline. Judging by the suddenly tense mood and the way Allura froze up, everybody else did, too.

"I'm just going to go," Allura's voice wavered but she still strained to push out the words stuck in her throat, "I need to..." To go see whether she'd have to lose her father a third time. To see whether the universe - the Galra - would keep taking everything away from her, even with a fresh start from time travelling.

No...not everything. By fate or accident, she found a new family in the ragtag group present around her, all with gazes of concern. It didn't erase the dull ache of loss, but dwelling on it wouldn't help them, any of them.

: :

It was exactly as she feared.

Her father was gone.

Her duty or resolve, however, were still there and would only grow and strengthen.

: :

It was the elephant in the room, long overdue for confrontation.

Lance and Hunk were off retrieving the Yellow Lion from a Galra-controlled and not at all peaceful planet, Shiro and Matt were going to see if the Green Lion would accept Matt, and Coran was checking on and prepping escape pods in the hanger as back up for the Green Lion. That left Princess Allura to take care of the castle defenses and Keith to wait. And in his plans, waiting also included trying to puzzle through the events of what happened before they were thrown into a wormhole.

"Can a Lion have more than one Paladin?" Keith was waiting for the right time to ask within relative privacy so as to not cause too much of a stir up or friction.

Allura stopped her tinkering with the castle interface and turned to face Keith, a somber expression on her face. "You're talking about Zarkon and the Black Lion," she stated in a soft voice that almost made it sound like a question. At his slight nod, she sighed. "I said this to you all last time, the Lions choose their pilots and it's a mystical bond that cannot be forced-"

"You mean what you said right before assigning us all Lions, except Lance?" Keith interrupted, though not maliciously.

As if sensing this, Allura rolled her eyes before retorting lightly, "I do think Pidge is rubbing off on you. And maybe I'm just that good of a judge of character," she added, then continued. "But to answer your question, yes, it is possible and not unheard of. That's why it would do no harm for Matt to see if the Green Lion would accept him."

"Then, Zarkon did something with the bonds to mess with our sychronization as Voltron and eject Shiro from the Black Lion?"

Allura pursed her lips and considered her answer for a moment, "I can't say for sure since I wasn't there, but it's possible..." she trailed off, eyes staring off somewhere to the side.

It was Keith's turn to sigh as he turned it over in his mind before blurting out a tiny detail he noticed, "Zarkon still has the Black Bayard," saying it out loud felt foreign on his tongue, wrong, even. "You knew, all this time?" He couldn't tell if he meant it to come out so accusatorily, but it did and he couldn't take it back.

A beat passed. The tension was thick.

"It's complicated, to say the least," she started explaining after steeling herself, looking him straight in the eyes the entire time. "I was aware of the previous Paladins of Voltron and of the rising conflict from the ambitions of the ruler of the Galra, Zarkon. However, I never really connected them in my mind until our encounter after my capture. It truly wasn't my intention to hide anything."

Keith stared back, then closed his eyes momentarily, hand on his temple "...Thank you," he opened his eyes, "Everybody should know."

Allura nodded with a grateful smile, then turned around to continue concentrating on the castle's systems, "And they will know, but there are also some more pressing matters to take care of."

: :

The plan was simple and very much similar to what they did last time. Lance and Hunk would pretend to surrender their Lions in order to take out the ion cannon and "under no circumstances destroy the ship just yet." Keith, Shiro, and Matt were crammed uncomfortably into the two seater escape pod Pidge modified in the other timeline, as they were unable to retrieve the Green Lion. Keith would get Red back to help Lance and Hunk destroy the ship after Shiro and Matt freed the prisoners.

Easy. Piece of cake. Glob of green space goo.

...But it wasn't. Sure, finding Red was much easier than it was last time, even if he didn't know precisely where he was in the ship, but it seemed he still had to prove himself to his Lion, hopefully without the whole "IT'S ME, KEITH." Therefore, he couldn't just immediately eject the Galra sentries - which were still shooting at him - into space and trust Red to be impressed enough to save him from floating around in space. He had to take down the first wave of sentries the old fashioned way.

Except nothing ever went according to plan, especially with time travel in the mix, judging by the sudden gunfire from behind him.

Just his luck.

: :

"You said you remember where the prisoners are held, but-" Matt almost bumped into Shiro, whose attention was wholly on a floating triangular droid in front of them. "It saw us! What do we-"

"Rover? But what are you doing here?" Shiro put a comforting hand on Matt's shoulder, right hand tensed if necessary. However, he doubted it would be necessary, because Rover was an ambient green-blue, as this droid was, contrary to the Galra pink-purple.

Rover beeped before leading them to the prisoners, once again opening the door for them, but this time without prompting.

"Dad?! **_KATIE?!_** " Matt stepped into the dark cell, desperately searching for two people that weren't there.

"It's you, the Champion."

It seemed some things never change.

: :

Change is inevitable; expect the unexpected.

Keith really shouldn't have been surprised by the difference in events. Although, in his defense, he had also never seen Pidge with long hair with the exception of the picture she kept. Moreover, even though she was trying to help him take out the sentries, she was doing so with one of their own guns and from behind him. Thankfully, she was in shooting range and not in sword swinging range.

"How'd you know we were coming?" he asked after comming Allura for a wormhole to retrieve the Green Lion.

Pidge shrugged, looking unhealthier than she would after any all nighter she's ever pulled, "Eh, you know. Hacking my way in, listening into transmissions. The works."

He nodded, and a relative silence ensued for a brief period of time.

It wasn't until they went through the wormhole that Keith's head started pounding with a sudden influx of memories that weren't his. Yet, at the same time, he also knew that they were very much his.

"Keith, are you okay?" He distantly registered Pidge's voice in the back of his mind, but he was preoccupied with recovering his equilibrium. From reconciling the memories of two different timelines and also from focusing on the second set of memories. Specifically...

" _LANCE!_ " Specifically the person wouldn't let him catch a break, even at the Garrison with only one of them back from the wormhole.


End file.
